Faerie
by avalonchick5
Summary: TMR/FemOC. Very AU. Creature!Tom Creature!FemOC. If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it is yours; if it does not, it never was.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Tom Riddle, Charlus Potter, Dorea Black, Minerva McGonagall, James Potter, Lily Evans, or Harry James Potter. Nor do I own the names in the orphanage. Those belong to the illustrious J.K. Rowling.

I do have some rights to Aislin Swann-Thanatos, Jamie McGonagall, Desdemona Barklin, and Dylan Diggory. I also have some rights to Thomas James Riddle, Alice Isabelle Riddle, Skandar Jonathan Riddle, Aurora (Rory) Lillian Riddle, Allison Diana Diggory, Amos Dylan Diggory, and Saphira Aislin Riddle.

They were born on the exact same day. The boy, born of a disfigured and destitute woman abandoned by her husband, was born in the morning, just before dawn. He had dark brown hair and serious dark blue eyes, even as a newborn. His name was Tom Marvolo Riddle, named for his father and grandfather. His mother died within an hour of his birth.

She was born in the evening, just after sunset. Her mother was beautiful, rich, and married, but unwilling to support a bastard daughter. Her hair was fiery red, laced through with golden strands. Unusual eyes, a mix of cerulean and silver, shone with solemn understanding the first time she opened them. Her name was Aislin Victoria Swann, named for her mother's Irish heritage and regal bearing. Her mother left the orphanage within an hour of her birth.

The two children barely interacted as they grew. She watched him sometimes, and he did the same occasionally, but they did not speak, and rarely acknowledged the existence of the other. But that changed the day they both turned seven years old.

The orphanage children had gone out for a trip to the seaside, and the other waifs were rapidly becoming bored. Luckily for them, they found their two favorite targets sitting slightly near each other on the beach, staring out across the ocean. The leaders of the boys and girls' individual groups, Dennis Bishop and Amy Benson, had the bright idea to tease and taunt them together. For, they reasoned, when going against two, two groups are better than one. So they did. The girls dragged Aislin over to where the boys surrounded Tom, pushing her into him. They righted themselves cautiously, looking up at the other children.

The children smiled maliciously and surrounded them, beginning to push and shove. Neither of the two reacted, except to inch a little closer to each other. The children threw out taunts, but when the duo continued to stay silent, they grew angry, especially Dennis and Amy. So they went farther. They pushed the pale children to the ground, kicking and punching them. Still, they didn't make a sound. Amy and Dennis attacked furiously, calling them freaks, retards, bastard and bitch, and they finally reacted. Aislin looked up at them, her face bruising rapidly. "Go away. Leave us alone." Her voice was layered with harsh demand, and dumbstruck, not really knowing what they were doing, the children nodded dumbly and left, talking amongst themselves. It was as though the abuse session had never happened.

Tom looked at her. "Thank you." His voice was refined and mature, far too jaded for a seven year old. She nodded, meeting his eyes for the first time. As darkened blue and bright silvery-cerulean gazed at each other, subtle magic crackled in the air around them.

Far away, in a place unknown to the two, an old, battered quill picked itself up and dipped its tip into an inkpot. Turning to the book in front of it, it wrote in slow, deliberate movements.

_Tom Marvolo Riddle (vampire dominant: Riddle line) and Aislin Victoria Swann-Thanatos (faerie submissive: Thanatos line): Primary Contact; First Bond Completed_

Tom and Aislin were ten years old the summer they received their Hogwarts letters. The two had become close, developing an intimate relationship. They knew everything about each other. Aislin knew of Tom's darker tendencies, his wishes to extinguish the children and matrons who hated, feared, and abused them. Tom knew of Aislin's silent desire to hurt enough that it would be permissible to take away the pain. He knew of the shallow cuts on her slim wrists, the cuts that he had never allowed to go deep enough to spill too much blood.

Albus Dumbledore was surprised to find two quiet, polite children waiting for him. They showed virtually no emotion, other than slight satisfaction at the statement that they were different. In another world, a Tom Riddle who never known Aislin Swann would have shown his darker tendencies, would have given back that which he stole. This Tom had never stolen anything, had never hung a rabbit from the rafters, though he had led two children into a cave and frightened them into slight insanity. But what could they say? Amy and Dennis deserved it. Aislin Swann had held him back, balancing his Dark with her Grey-tinted Light. She had taught him the importance of patience – for they knew they were special, but the other children had no talent at all. In the end, they would be the shining ones, while all the others rotted away into obscurity. Aislin taught Tom to love and cherish, while he taught her revenge and secrecy. They balanced each other, her yang to his yin.

The two children left to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Knowing that they would be different; they would be special.

"Riddle, Tom!" As Tom slipped the hat onto his head, the last thing he saw before the darkness on the inside of the hat was the small smile on Aislin's face.

_Aislin? Ah…_ the hat murmured. _What talent lies within you, Mr. Riddle…and oh yes, this can certainly not be ignored…yes; I think you'll do well in_ SLYTHERIN!

Tom took off the hat and put it on the stool before catching Aislin's eyes. She smiled gently and nodded her head towards the Slytherin table, and he went.

"Swann, Aislin!" Aislin placed the hat on her gold-laced locks, and it slid down over her eyes.

_Aislin…so you are the one young Mr. Riddle thought of…ah, what's this? A faerie descendant? How interesting…you will do well with Mr. Riddle in_ SLYTHERIN!

Aislin smiled to herself and removed the hat. People were whispering quietly at their tables, looking from her to Tom in evident curiousity. One muggle-born in Slytherin was strange enough, but two? She walked over to the green-adorned table gracefully, sitting down across from Tom. He gave her a small, secret smile that she returned. They would reign over Slytherin.


	2. Chapter 2

Five years. Five years since their Sorting into Slytherin. Aislin mused as she released the books she'd been using to their proper shelves. She'd been right in thinking they would reign over Slytherin. Once Tom had revealed his Parseltongue talent, he had been accepted instantly and revered by all of Slytherin House. She, on the other hand, hadn't joined him until mid-first year, after her eleventh birthday, when she discovered her control over the shadows and her affinity for Necromancy. The two had control over all of Slytherin, but they never abused the privilege, choosing instead to slowly change people's perceptions of the Slytherin house. They had reached out to the other houses, making friends with Minerva Farleigh and Charlus Potter in Gryffindor, Jamie McGonagall and Dorea Black in Ravenclaw, and Desdemona Barklin and Dylan Diggory in Hufflepuff. They were close friends, though pairs were closer than others. Tom and Aislin were obviously closer to each other, while Jamie and Minerva and Charlus and Dorea were closer. Desdemona and Dylan fought a lot, but were best friends.

Aislin and Tom had influenced each year beneath them to make friends with open-minded people in other houses; now there were several study groups and close friendships between Slytherins and other house members.

However, now that they were turning sixteen (at least, Tom and Aislin were, all the others had already turned sixteen), they were already well into puberty and beginning to eye the other sex with genuine interest. Jamie had already asked Minnie (Minerva; though she pretended to hate the nickname) to the Christmas Hogsmeade trip. Charlus was taking Dorea to meet his parents for the holidays (they had been dating seriously for over a year), while Des and Dylan were bound by marriage contract and were casually dating, having fun as friends before they got serious. Tom had never seemed particularly interested in girls or guys, but she had seen him watching Astraea Malfoy with a slight gleam in his eyes. She had realized this with a slight pain in her chest, but dismissed it. They were like brother and sister, closer than close. She needn't worry about Astraea Malfoy.

Aislin herself had glanced at boys in her year and above, but not much longer than in passing. They just didn't peak her interest – not like Tom did. Aislin caught herself with a shake of her head.

It was soon Winter Solstice (or Christmas) holidays. Charlus, Dorea, Des, and Dylan had left on the train home, ready for a luxurious break. Jamie and Minnie were still interested in each other and had gone out to be alone together several times, including today. It was Christmas Day, the day of Winter Solstice. Tom, Aislin, and Astraea Malfoy were the only three in all of Slytherin House who had stayed for the holidays, and Tom and Aislin were sitting by the tree, unwrapping presents from their friends and well-wishers. Astraea had already left for breakfast, but not before wishing them both a Happy Solstice and pseudo-casually brushing the back of her hand on Tom's cheek.

Aislin had already unwrapped her share of presents from their well-wishers in Slytherin and was now starting on the gifts from their circle of close friends. She unfolded the wrapping paper carefully on these, wanting to save them. She did the same every year. The first present she received was from Des, and it turned out to be a beautiful wooden lap-desk, polished until it shone. Dylan sent her a companion quill, ink, parchment, and stationary set. From Charlus she got a rare book on Necromancy that she had been looking for from his family library and from Dorea she received a pair of black lace gloves with the fingertips cut off and dark purple translucent rose-patterned tights with a short, flared black skirt. A note that accompanied them suggested that she might use these to catch herself a man and she laughed quietly. Fun-loving Jamie gifted her with an encyclopedia of stealth-related charms with a note at the end that said that she should obviously use these to prank Montague for him – pretty please? Minnie's present was the last one she opened and she unwrapped it to reveal a white clothing box. Curious, because Minnie usually sent her books, she peeked inside. The moment she caught the gist of what, exactly, was in the box, she slammed the top on with a muffled squeak.

Tom glanced up at her curiously from where he had been opening his own presents. Her face was scarlet as she blushed furiously. His eyes traveled down to the white box she had just opened and he raised an eyebrow, reaching across to look at what had made his best friend so obviously embarrassed. He was met with resistance as Aislin drew away the box, shaking her head rapidly. Even more curious, he slyly withdrew his hand, glancing at her through the corner of his eyes as she relaxed slightly, still bright red. Then, extremely quickly, he snagged the box and drew it towards him in a moment. Aislin's eyes widened and she lunged across the remains of wrapping paper, reaching out to grab it back. Tom, caught off-guard, tumbled backward holding the box away from Aislin as she straddled his waist, reaching over him, trying to take it back. He flipped over underneath her so he was on his stomach and could more easily open the box. Hurrying, he ripped the top off of it and pulled out the first piece of clothing, holding it up. Aislin noticed and she shrieked in embarrassment and buried her face in her hands. Tom was dumbstruck.

He held a lacy, midnight blue, string bikini-style piece of underwear in his hands. Aislin whimpered as he turned over, shifting backwards slightly until her back touched his thighs. Her face was still hidden in her hands, though he could see traces of her bright red skin. He smirked to himself, though he was still surprised at his friend. "So…you're a string bikini kind of girl?"

Aislin pulled her head out of her hands and glared at him, smacking his chest with her hand. "I hate you Tom Riddle," she muttered, grabbing the bottom out of his grasp and stowing it away in the box. "Oh, don't put it away," he smirked. "I was so looking forward to seeing the other half." Aislin glared half-heartedly and shoved him lightly before settling down, still on his lap, leaning against his thighs. "Is it your turn then?"

Tom looked at her blankly for a moment before grinning and Aislin's eyes widened as she realized her wording and shook her head. "You know that's not what I meant." Tom smiled at her and pulled out his wand, summoning a small box from underneath the tree. "Go on then," he said, handing her the box, but she shook her head and summoned her own present from the same place. "Same time, yes?"

He nodded and began to open it slowly, preserving the wrapping paper. Hers were the only ones he did this with. He finally revealed a small black box, and inside it, he found a silver chain with a silver square-shaped locket hanging from it. Glancing up at Aislin, he met her silvery eyes with a small smile. A delicate silver chain and oval-shaped locket hung from her fingers. "It looks like great minds think alike, as usual." She teased. "Go on, open it."

Tom carefully pressed down on the clasp and it sprung open. Inside was a miniature magical painting of the two of them, and on the left side elegant script read "Fire and Ice". He looked up at her with a quiet smile. "It's beautiful. Now open yours."

Aislin gently edged the locket open and gasped quietly as a haunting melody tinkled from it. It played the saddest, but most beautiful song she had ever heard, and a small projection of the two of them appeared just above the locket. The magical holograms hugged each other, then mini-Aislin shrieked with musical laughter as mini-Tom tickled her. Aislin gazed at it in wonder, then looked down at Tom.

"I…I don't know what to say." She said quietly as she gazed into his dark blue eyes. A faint pink coloured his cheeks. "Thank you so much Tom. It's amazing." He merely nodded and turned his eyes back to the magical miniature as she gently snapped shut the clasp and settled the chain around her neck.

They spent the rest of the day together.

Over the years, the old quill had lain practically useless, but that day it picked itself once more, and after dipping itself into the inkwell, it slowly scratched out the following, just under its last entry.

_Tom Marvolo Riddle (vampire dominant: Riddle line) and Aislin Victoria Swann-Thanatos (faerie submissive: Thanatos line): Secondary Contact; Second Bond Completed_


	3. Chapter 3

Mere days after Christmas, it was the night of December 30th, the night before their sixteenth birthdays. Both teens were staying up until midnight, seeing as it was vital to any creature inheritances they may receive that they be awake. Aislin and Tom stayed in their separate Prefect rooms in the Slytherin dungeons, watching the clocks slowly tick down. 11:58:55…11:59:15…11:59:35…11:59:55…56…57…58…59…12:00:00.

At that moment, both residents of the sixth year Prefect dorms keeled over on their beds, curling up in pain. Aislin whimpered painfully and Tom gritted his teeth. It would be a long seven hours for the both of them.

At seven o'clock that morning, the transformations finally ended. Somewhere along the way, the two of them had drifted off into a pain-filled sleep, and when the pain stopped, both Tom and Aislin awoke.

Tom got up and stretched lightly before padding over to examine himself in the mirror. While he had been handsome enough before, he was even more good-looking now, after his inheritance. His skin was extremely pale and his features more refined. He had grown two inches and had lean muscle adorning his body. His skin was also slightly harder than before and he was faster and stronger, plus almost inhumanly alluring. His pupil was ringed in scarlet while the rest of his eyes stayed a sapphire blue. He could look at something then recall it with perfect accuracy and seemed to remember everything he had ever learned.

Aislin did the same in her rooms and smiled to herself as she gazed in the mirror. He nightgown was ripped in the back, and practically hung off her frame. She seemed to exude more fragility and a sense of delicacy. Her fiery tresses hung to her elbows and were streaked with pure ebony and silver that oddly enough, complemented the gold instead of clashing with it. Her eyes were slightly different; they had become more of a silver-flecked cerulean than a blue-silver mix. Her skin was paler than before and her features were more fae-like. But the biggest change was the yellow-green and silver wings that spread from her back. They were proportionate to her small size and were at a happy medium between opaque and transparent, rather translucent. She also had perfect recall and was far more observant than before. She could also see auras.

Tom had an easier time hiding his inheritance from everyone, even Aislin. She did notice the differences, but never commented, seeing as Tom never brought it up. Aislin found that she could hide her wings and played off the change in her hair as something she'd experimented with over break. Tom didn't contradict her.

Aislin noticed, with slight confusion, that Tom seemed to be staring at Astraea Malfoy a lot more than he had before break. Feeling slightly guilty, she hastily checked his aura for traces of love potion, but found nothing. She herself felt a deeper sensitivity towards the opposite sex, more particularly towards Tom. Curious, she experimented with this new sense, and discovered the longer she stayed near him, the more heightened the sensations would get, and they did not fade if she avoided him for a time afterwards. She felt an odd feeling of longing, lust, and slight possessiveness whenever she was near him that never ceased to make her blush.

Halfway through the first month of the New Year, Tom asked Astraea to go to Hogsmeade with him, and she gladly accepted. Aislin was happy for the both of them, but her fae instincts (which was the actual name for those queer sensations), were roiling under the surface. She'd had to hurry to the Room of Requirement and curse things into oblivion for about fifteen minutes before she felt that they were under control. As a result of that date, though, Tom and Astraea began dating more seriously.

During the next two months (until mid-March), Aislin felt quite alone and delved into her studies on Necromancy to keep herself occupied. Her creature instincts weren't helping either – she had the odd urge to strangle Astraea whenever she saw her alone. This only worsened when Astraea seemed to start throwing things in her face – oh, wasn't this gift that Tom got her so beautiful, and wasn't he so thoughtful, smart, and handsome, and weren't they the perfect couple? It all came to a head one day when Aislin had finally finished all of her schoolwork and was waiting for some ingredients for a potion she was making for a Necromantic ritual, so she was lounging in the common room, helping some of the younger years with their studies.

Astraea showed up and immediately seated herself next to Aislin, commencing to "help" her with the younger ones. But the way she explained the concepts was so advanced (and so wrong) that they were completely confused and looked very lost until Aislin patiently (though with gritted teeth) stopped Astraea and explained it more easily to the children. Astraea had thrown her a sharp look and had started gabbing about her boyfriend (Aislin's one-time best friend; she wasn't very sure about that anymore) when Aislin calmly and politely told her to shut up or go away. This degenerated into a squabble that left Astraea challenging Aislin to a duel and Aislin accepting, if only to get Astraea off her back.

Most of Slytherin heard about it, but everyone knew not to come and watch. Even Tom wasn't allowed to come. It went against the Slytherin code. You settle a dispute – you do it privately.

The duel was short, with Aislin walking away the winner; but there were consequences, because during the duel, Astraea had resorted to taunting Aislin about her fading friendship with Tom, and Aislin had responded furiously. At the end, while both seemed to be unharmed minus some bruises and scrapes, Astraea was hurt much more than either realized. She had been hit (though neither had noticed) by a Dark curse of Aislin's after a particularly malicious taunt. In two weeks, her organs would have deteriorated enough for anyone to take notice.

And take notice they did. As soon as Astraea collapsed during dinner, she was rushed up to the hospital and diagnosed. They put her on a severe potions regimen that seemed to be working – at first. Tom spent every night at her bedside, only returning to the common room late at night, where he would sit and gaze into the fire. Aislin usually sat next to him, neither of them saying anything. Aislin had realized exactly what was going on the minute Astraea was diagnosed, but knew that it would kill her or leave her permanently incapacitated at best.

What affected Aislin most was Tom's condition. He was losing weight and wasn't sleeping. He threw himself into schoolwork and seeing Astraea. The guilt tore at Aislin, but she couldn't tell him. One night, after he had left to bed, where she knew he would lie awake, or doing schoolwork, she glanced down her hands twisted in her lap and caught sight of scars that marred the insides of her forearms. She fingered them, her thinking dulled by grief. She hated seeing Tom like this…it killed her. And she decided that it would only be fair if she caused herself pain the way she had caused his.

Aislin stared down at the black, sharp quill in her hands and the creamy blank parchment sitting on the desk in front of her. She was in an abandoned part of the castle that was never patrolled, not even by Ogg, the gamekeeper. She lowered the tip to the parchment and carefully wrote, in her own elegant handwriting, three simple words. I hurt him. The short sentence appeared on the paper in scarlet ink: her blood. The words carved themselves into her forearm and healed over, causing a slight pain, but it was brief. She wrote it again. I hurt him. Once more it appeared on her arm and once more it healed over, though the skin was redder.

She wrote for hours. Hour by hour, the time passed, and as it passed, the words stopped healing and began to bleed freely. At five in the morning she stopped and bandaged her arm, yawning and setting the parchment on fire. She had written for seven hours.

Aislin did this every night for weeks. She carved the same three words into her arm until she was nearly down to the bone. Oftentimes she would cry silently if Tom had had a bad night, but it was always for him. Never for herself, never for Astraea, who was still in the hospital, but getting (impossibly) better. Always for Tom.

As Astraea's health improved, Tom's did as well. He began to take more notice of the world around him, and he couldn't help but notice how Aislin went off every night and returned very early in the morning. No one knew what she was doing, but it was evident to Tom she had been doing it for awhile. She always had a glamour on her face, and in the brief moment he saw her without it on, he was shocked and slightly terrified. She had black rings under her eyes and her skin was tight to her face. She looked like she hadn't slept in weeks, and he felt momentarily guilty for not noticing. But he waved it off. How could he have? He was so wrapped up in Astraea's health…

Aislin continued her nightly ritual, barely noticing how Tom was getting better. She studied more necromancy than ever, determined to find out what exactly, there is beyond death. She could call up spirits and create Inferi and could even bring herself to the brink of death and come back, but she still didn't know what life after death was really like. She knew that certain persons were always predestined since the beginning of time to be reborn with another's memories and another's body.

One night, Tom was well enough to follow Aislin to wherever she went at night. When she slipped out of the common room and through the school, he followed, always keeping her in his sight. She arrived at her normal classroom without noticing a thing, and she set up her parchment and quill. Tom didn't recognize the quill but was curious as to what she was up to. Was she just writing letters, or lines, or even essays? He watched as she pushed up the sleeve of her blouse up over her forearm and narrowed his eyes as she took off the bloodstained bandage that was wrapped around it. When she laid the bandage aside and revealed the inside of her forearm, he gasped quietly.

The words, I hurt him were carved into her arm in her own handwriting. His shocked eyes could almost see bone. Then she put the quill to the parchment and blood began to flow freely from the wound as she wrote. He could see it carve itself even more deeply, and saw a flash of white that he was sure was her bone. Tom swooped over to her and snatched the quill and parchment out of her hands, looking down at it before tapping it with his wand and murmuring the enlarging spell. Hundreds of parchments fell to the ground in front of him, all covered with the same three words. I hurt him. His shocked and frightened eyes turned towards Aislin, who was standing now, her arm by her side and a fierce, terrified look in her blue eyes.

"Why did you write this?" Tom had a terrible sinking feeling in his chest as he looked at her. He could see from all the parchments that she had to have started this weeks ago, when Astraea was at her worst, at the beginning. I hurt him. He ran the words over in his mind…and then it clicked, and his eyes fastened on hers. She stepped back at the furious and accusing look in his eyes before closing her own and bowing her head. The scarlet ring around his pupil expanded until it took over his entire iris, a faint circle of blue around the edges all that remained of his former color.

"You did this to her…you cursed Astraea." His voice was a raging, but seductive growl. "Why?" Aislin looked up at him. "She told me that you didn't love me. That you only pretended to care." Her eyes were hopeful, but he didn't refute the statement.

"She's right." He said coldly. "I never loved you, and I never will." Aislin's eyes went curiously blank. "Oh." Her voice was small, but expressionless. "I will go then."

But Tom blocked the door and shoved her to the ground as she tried to leave. He stood over her as she gazed up at him, still completely blank. Internally, Tom was confused. She was supposed to be in pain; some sobbing and pleading would be nice. He had to get revenge for Astraea…and for himself.

So he beat her. His former best friend, his one-time sister. He was unspeakably cruel to her. But she didn't react at all. Not when he carved his own word into her other forearm (betrayer), not when he broke both her pointer fingers, not when he kicked and screamed and cried at her. Not until the end, when Tom finally collapsed against the wall, tearstained and bloody and exhausted. Then, when he looked over at her, as his eyes returned to blue, she weakly sat up as he surveyed the damage he had wrought. Her eyes were no longer blank; sadness and pain filled them and turned them completely silver. She reached out and touched him, flinching when he moved away, and he felt better. He felt clean and healthy and almost whole.

He looked at her in slight wonder as her eyes turned back to cerulean and she leaned against the wall. She did not heal herself, a fact that Tom noticed. "Why don't you heal yourself, then?" His voice was bitter. She shook her head weakly. "I deserve this."

Tom suddenly felt terrible. He almost killed her – his once best friend! She saw the remorse in his eyes but shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Go to Astraea. She needs you." But her eyes told a different story. They begged him to stay.

Tom didn't move. Aislin nodded towards the door. "Go on."

"What will you do?"

"I will probably be unable to move…so I suppose I shall stay here." Her eyes went blank and she turned away. "I always wondered what life after death is like. Now I shall get to see it for myself." Realizing what she was saying, Tom hurriedly stood and performed all the healing charms he knew on her, stopping all bleeding and replenishing her blood, scarring the open wounds, and removing the bruises. He healed her bones and cleaned up her face before helping her up. But she shook her head.

"Tom…don't do this now. You have already said too much."

Tom paused and thought back. The only major thing he remembered saying was…oh. Oh. He immediately turned to her. "I didn't mean it. Honestly, I didn't. I was just so angry…" but Aislin was shaking her head. "I'm sorry Tom. It's not enough."

Abruptly furious, he grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her. "Yes it is enough! What is wrong with you? I am the dominant!" And Aislin was shaking and crying and suddenly he felt terrible again and he pulled her close, hugging her to him tightly. "Shhh, shhh. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me."

Aislin pulled back, still teary. "I do. It's your vampire dominance. You are the dominant, you overpower me as both a dominant and a vampire. I am submissive and fae, lower than the vampire. I am yours, and to overrule you kills me, but I must, because I will die if you leave me. And Astraea said you would."

Tom finally grasped what was happening. He had been attracted to Astraea initially, and since his transformation he had been searching for his mate. His human side had mistaken Astraea for his mate because he was attracted to her, but had overlooked the closeness he shared with Aislin. Aislin was fae and submissive, so she while she knew he was her mate before he knew that she was his, she couldn't tell him because she was submissive on both counts: in their relationship and creature-wise. Since he had been with Astraea, and during the duel Astraea had told Aislin that he didn't love her, plus she had inadvertently hurt him by hurting Astraea, her faerie side had forced her to punish herself because she had hurt him, though she saw it as pain for pain, rather than absolute subservience. Then he had confirmed that he didn't love her, which was the equivalent of ripping her heart out and stomping on it. His vampire side had gone crazy because, firstly, she had hurt the girl that he thought was his mate, but more importantly, because he had unintentionally hurt his submissive, and his vampire side could feel her pain and couldn't figure out what was going on.

First things first, Tom decided. He raised Aislin's chin and looked into her bright blue eyes before gently pressing a kiss to her lips. He proceeded to kiss her passionately, and when she responded, everything seemed to settle into place. His vampire side calmed as it had finally found it's mate, and his human side was quite frankly astounded at Aislin's kissing prowess. Aislin felt the same way, her faerie side relaxing at their contact and her human side rejoicing that she was finally kissing Tom.

The old quill picked itself up for a final time, moistening its tip with ink and laboriously writing the following:

_Tom Marvolo Riddle (vampire dominant: Riddle line) and Aislin Victoria Swann-Thanatos (faerie submissive: Thanatos line): Third Contact; Final Bond Completed_

The second thing Tom did was to see Astraea in the hospital, and rather bluntly tell her that it was over, and she had better be happy that she was in the hospital, because if he had known what she'd said to Aislin before, she would definitely be in there again.

The third thing Tom and Aislin did was to tell their other friends of their creature inheritances and a watered down version of the mating fiasco.

And the fourth thing Tom did took place about a year later, right after their graduation from Hogwarts. He knelt down in front of Aislin and asked her to marry him, and of course, she accepted.

They did marry a couple of months later and Tom got the post as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with his wife as his assistant. About a year later, Aislin's womb swelled with his child, and Tom couldn't be any prouder. They had a baby boy that they named Thomas James Riddle, in honor of their mutual friend Jamie McGonagall, who incidentally married Minerva Farleigh, as they all knew he would, though they remained childless, content to teach the children at Hogwarts with Minerva as the Transfiguration teacher and Jamie as the Charms professor. Charlus Potter did marry Dorea Black and they had a beautiful little boy names James Charlus Potter. Both went on to become Aurors. Desdemona Barklin and Dylan Diggory married as per the contract and had two children, Allison Diana and Amos Dylan Diggory. Dylan worked in the Ministry as part of the Department of International Cooperation and Des stayed at home with the children.

Tom and Aislin went on to have three more children: Alice Isabelle, Skandar Jonathan, and Aurora (Rory) Lillian Riddle. Their parents were extremely relieved when none of their children had enough vampire or faerie blood to require a mate. They simply had unusual eyes and alluring features. Tom eventually became headmaster at Hogwarts after his children had left and Aislin joined the Ministry in an attempt to level the field, so to speak, for nonhuman races. It ultimately did succeed.

Tom saw many children pass through the school: his own children, his grandchildren, and even his great-grandchildren. He saw James Potter attempt to woo Lily Evans and succeed, giving Charlus and Dorea their only grandchild: Harry James Potter, a child who passed through Hogwarts with love and family around him. He saw that same Potter marry his own grandchild: Saphira Aislin Riddle, daughter of his son Thomas. Allison, Amos, Thomas, Alice, Skandar, Aurora, and James were all very good friends, joined by Sirius Black and Remus Lupin later on, and then even later their spouses and children.

But one of Tom's greatest prides was seeing all four houses united, due to the influence he and Aislin had on helping Slytherin defeat the stereotypes. Though Slytherins and Gryffindors were often the most prone to prank wars, they never crossed the border between funny and cruel.

And never did a day pass by on which he didn't thank all the deities he knew for sending him Aislin, and he never missed an opportunity to tell her he loved her.

**AN:** So, did you like it? Please leave a review if you've got any questions or constructive criticism. Yes, I do realize it moves along really disjointedly, but that's just how it came out. Yes, I also realize that the whole creature thing is weird: I thought it was too. I really have no idea where that came from. And finally, yes, I do realize that some people may not like it, but if you are one of those people, please don't flame. It's a waste of both my time and yours, and I don't want to put up with stupid people. Thank you!

**PS:** BUT! But, but, but, but! If you didn't like it and you have some honest-to-goodness reasons why you don't like it: review! Even if it just rubbed you the wrong way: say so! But NOT IN A FLAMEY WAY! I am looking forward to everything: the good, the bad, and (but not really) the ugly. Thanks again!

Love,

Avalon


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